This application claims the priority of German application 199 12 106.0, filed Mar. 18, 1999, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a motor vehicle, particularly a passenger car, having at least one large-surface movable roof part. Elongated guide rails on which the movable roof part is guided are arranged laterally of a roof opening. The guide rails extend adjacent to laterally exterior roof members, and a covering, by which the roof members and the guide rails are covered in a direction of the vehicle occupant compartment, is provided.
German Patent Document DE 196 13 761 C1 discloses a passenger car having at least one large-surface movable roof part which is longitudinally displaceably guided on elongated guide rails arranged laterally of a roof opening. The guide rails and the adjoining laterally exterior roof members are covered, in the direction of the vehicle occupant compartment, by a covering (fixed ceiling) disposed in front of the rails and roof members. In this arrangement, under unfavorable conditions, a vehicle occupant""s head may suffer relatively serious injuries as a result of a lateral impact on the covering, on the guide rail, and/or on the roof member in the event of a lateral impact.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to take measures to reduce the forces occurring in the event of an impact of a vehicle occupant""s head in a motor vehicle of the type mentioned above in order to decrease the risk of injury. According to the invention, this object is achieved by assigning the covering, at least in areas, to an intermediately disposed deformation element which can be fixed on each of the guide rails. Additional advantageous characteristics of the invention are also reflected in the claims.
A principal advantage achieved by the invention is that, as a result of inserting a deformation element which carries at least a partial area of the covering, the forces occurring in the event of a head impact are reduced considerably by deformation of the deformation element. The deformation element, formed by a thin-walled extruded profile, can be produced in a simple manner and at low cost, and can be mounted rapidly. By linking the deformation element to the guide rails, the deformation element can be connected, while still outside the vehicle, with the prefabricated roof module. This reduces assembly time at the assembly line considerably.
Various embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and will be described in detail in the following.